Harness-saddle.



Patented Dec. 24, I90l.

L. DUFF.

HARNESS SADDLE. (Application filed l zov. 23 i900.

(No Model.)

1 4: NORRIS ums 00.. PNPYO-UTHQ. WASHINGTON. n. c

FFICE.

PATENT LEON DUFF, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

HARNESS-SADDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,470, dated December 24, 1901.

Application filed November 23, 1900. Serial No. 37,533. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEON DUFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in

the county of Davidson and State of Tonnes The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts, which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a harness-saddle embodying the features of the invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the tree or top plate. Fig. 4. is a top plan view of the bottom plate. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the pad-forming plate applied to the under portion of the bottom plate. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a modified form of pad-tip. Fig. 7 is a detail longitudinal section of a portion of the bottom plate.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the several Views.

The numeral 1 designates the top plate, which is formed of suitable metal and bowed, as usual, in consonancewith the'bow of the saddle or pad as a whole and has vertical flanges 2 extending full length of the opposite sides thereof and with the intermediate body 3, forming upper and lower seats for the reception of the devices applied thereto. The body 3 has an upper seat 4, with a central opening 5 for the passage therethrough of the shank or stem of the check-hook or like device 6, which is engaged by a nut 7,

I applied against the under side of the seat, as

are depressed and formed with linesof openings 16 to receive the fastenings of what are known as hand-made pads. By depressing the portions of the body forming the margins of the slots 11 the bridges 12 are given ample proportions to serve their intended purpose, but prevented from having too great upward extent to avoid interfering in the least with the seat characteristics of the upper side of the top plate. Below the slots 1.1 a pluralityofopenings 17 are formed for securing purposes and also to lighten the structure of the body of the top plate, the said latter openings providing means, in the first instance, for the introduction of fastening devices in the construction of different varieties of saddles or pads. Extending transversely of the body,

adjacent to the lower terminals thereof andbetween the side flanges, are slots 18, which provide terminal seat members 19, depressed to permit parts hereinafter set forth to be readily inserted in the slots 18 thereover and having openings therein, as at 20, for the passage therethrough of fastening-screws 21, two being shown in the present instance, though one or three could be equally well employed, the said terminal seats being concaved for the purpose ofreceivingacorrespondingly-curved portion of pad-tips, as shown by Fig. 2 and more fully hereinafter referred to. From the rear flange of the body a back-strap loop 22 projects, and from the upper end walls of the slots 11 hooks 23 extend downwardly to in.- terlock with portions of a bottom plate, the lower end walls of the slots being formed with recesses 24 to provide seats.

The bottom plate 25 is practically of a skeleton or open construction to lighten the same and to provide for application to the top plate 1 and has its inner end 26 inclined and provided with a central slot 27 and an apertured lip 28' for receiving fastening devices, the said lip being normally located under thoseat 4 of the top plate, as shown by Fig. 2. Adjacent to the end 26 a cross-bar 28 connects the sides 29 of each bottom plate and has an upwardly-extending central portion 30 to receive the book 23 of the top plate, as shown by Fig. 7, it being understood that the bottom plates are of duplicate construction and applied to the under side of the top plate on opposite sides of the center of the latter. Below the cross-bar 28 two spaced cross-bars 31 and 32 are integrally formed with and hold a nut-box 33 between the sides 29, the said box being open at the bottom to'receivea nut 34, having a central screw-socket and opposite diametrically-disposed wings, the nut having a loose movement in the box, but prevented from rotating, so that the screw-shank of the terret-ring can be readily screwed thereinto through an aperture 35 in the upper or top portion thereof. This nut-box extends upwardly into the bridge 12 of the top plate, and at one end the box is formed with a series of openings 34) to lighten the structn re and also to receive fastenings when the parts are used with different forms of pads or attachments in producing variations in the saddle. The portion of the box which directly holds the nut is provided with a partial top covering, and the remaining part is open for convenience in placing the nut in position from above, and at the upper terminal of the box is a central-apertured projection 37, to which is secured a bottom covering 37 for the nut-box and serves to prevent the nut in the event of detachment of the same, as when disconnecting the terret-ring, from moving down under the bottom plate and rendering it difiicult to afterward remove the same, said covering being preferably formed of thin leather or other material and secured at its lower end by being bent over the end of the box having the openings 86 therein and fastened by tacks or other devices. Below the cross-bar 32 are opposite inwardly-projecting guards 38, which are horizontally disposed and formed with scalloped edges, and at the lower terminals of the said guards isa crossweb 39, having the edge thereof adjacent to the said guards bent downwardly and formed with a central-apertured projection 40, a plurality of openings 41 in the body thereof for fastening devices, and an enlarged opening 42, with diametrically-disposed slots over a nut-seat 43 in the bottom of the said crossweb to receive a nut 44, similar to that disposed in the box heretofore described. When the bottom plates are applied to the opposite sides of the under portions of the top plate, the sides 29 thereof fit partially within the flanges 2, and in the under portion of each bottom plate a seat-recess 45 is formed, for a purpose which will be more fully hereinafter set forth. The bottom plate is also formed with a terminal member 46,having side flanges 47, a central slot 18, opposite lines of openings 49, and an upwardly and inwardly projecting hook 50. The openings are to receive tacks or analogous fastenings, and the purpose of the hook will presently appear. To the bottom portion of each plate 25 and fitted in the recess 45 thereof is a concavo-convex padplate 51, which is formed with a plurality of perforations extending almost over the full dimensions thereof and has an upstruck tongue 52 at one end to enter the slot 27 in the inner end of the bottom plate. The opposite outer end of the pad-plate fits snugly against the end wall of the recess 45, so that there will be a flush coincidence of the edges of the sides and ends of the said pad-plate with the adjacent portions of the bottom plate. The pad-plates are concaved in a 1on- -gitudinal direction in order to properly shape the bearing portion of the saddle, and by perforating the said pad-plates the entire saddle structure is prevented from heating rapidly and becomes cool more readily. The interior of the saddle is hollow or open, as shown by Fig. 2, and it is unnecessary to use a filling -for the same of hair or any other material.

Over the upper side of the top plate the jockey 53 is disposed and secured in place by the trimmings, such as the check-hook, terret-rings, and screws 21. The flanges 2 and the ends of the top plate are covered in the present instance byleather or analogous material and inserted through the terminal slots 18 of the tree, and over the depressed seats 19 of the latter are the inner ends of the skirts 54, which project downwardly any suitable distance, nuts or screw-seats 55 being carried by and secured to the said skirts at their inner ends for engagement by the screws 21, which pass through the openings in the body of the top plate adjacent to the slots 18 and above the latter. The tug-straps 56 are attached to loops 57 of pad-tips 58, the latter being shouldered, as at 59, to have a portion thereof project over the ends of the jockey and provide seats for said ends to prevent them from curling or becoming worn and also to produce an ornamental finish. The tips also have fiat shanks 60, formed with a pair of eyes 61 to receive fastening devices, if desired, and terminate in T-heads62, which catch in the recesses 24 of the body of the top plate, and when all the parts are properly assembled these tips serve to firmly hold the tug-straps in secured relation to the saddle or pad. The form of tip shown by Fig. 6 is.

for use on a saddle or pad employed in connection with another style of harness not requiring the use of tug-strap loops, and consequently the loop 57 is dispensed with and the tip becomes a terminal trimming for the saddle and a holding-seat for the jockey-terminal on each side. The skirts 54 are also held down in proper position by the hooks 50, which penetrate the same from the bottom, as shown by Fig. 2, and by this means curling of the skirts is prevented. The outer ends of the pad-plates are also secured to the bottom plates by fastenings extending therethrough and through the apertured projections 40 of the bottom plates, and the guards 38 prevent the inner extremities of the skirts from sinking or extending downwardly too far in the assemblage of the parts. The united bottom and pad plates are sheathed by a covering 63 of suitable material, and by angularly extending the inner upper ends of the bottom plates the customary central arch can be readily produced in the pad to fit over the back and neck-bone of the animal.

While it is preferred to use cast or bent metal for forming the several plates, it is also intended at times to use wood, papier-mach, strawboard, or general pulp products, and by the interlocking assemblage of the several parts as set forth a great saving in hardware, fastening-tacks, and the expense of manufacture results. By means of this single structure a great variety of changes in the style and character of saddles can be produced.

Any kind of a straight or swell pad can be produced by the use of the improved devices, and. the durability and general strength of the saddle are materially increased.

The invention is not limited to the exact trimmings shown by the drawings, and the contour of the several parts may be changed without departing from the principle of the invention, and likewise the size and proportions may be varied.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A harness-saddle comprising a top plate, bottom plates connected to the under opposite portions thereof and forming hollow or open spaces therewith, concavo-convex perforated pad-plates directly applied and connected to the under portions of the bottom plates, and coverings and trimmings for the said plates, said coverings consisting of thin padless material fully inclosing-the plates, whereby the saddle is given the desired pad projection without the use of filling material.

2. A harness-saddle comprising a top plate having opposite integral downwardly inclined portions extending from a central elevated arched portion, separate bottom plates applied to the under side of the opposite inclined portions of said top plate and having their inner upper ends removably connected to the latter, concavo-convex perforated padplates removably and snugly held against the under sides of the bottom plates, and a covering for said parts.v

3. A harness-saddle comprising a top plate, bottom plates removably applied to the under sides of the opposite portions of the top plate and having upwardly and inwardly projecting hooks at the lower ends thereof below the opposite terminals of the top plate, a covering for said parts, and skirts having the inner upper extremities thereof inserted between the terminals of the top plate and the adjacent portions of the bottom plates and caught by the hooks of the latter.

4. A harness-saddle having a top plate with upper downwardly-extendingpooks and lower slots and depressed termina seats, bottom plates on the opposite portions of the top plate having the upper inner ends provided with cross-bars having upwardly-extending central portions to removably receive the said hooks, pad-tips inserted in said slots and seats of the top plates, and fastening devices for the lower ends of the plates.

5. A harness-saddle havinga top plate, in-

dependent bottom plates removably applied to opposite sides of the lower portion thereof, the upper ends of the bottom plates being inclined and slotted, independent pad-plates fitted against the lower portions of the bottom plates and having upstruck tongues to removably engage the slotted ends of the latter plates, and means for securing the ends of the pad-plates opposite to the ends thereof, having the said tongues. 6. A harness-saddle having a top plate with a body and side flanges, the body having opposite slots and bridges with openings therethrough, bottom plates with nut-boxes fitted upwardly against the bridges, nuts in the said boxes, and terretrings or the like having shanks passing through the bridges and boxes into the nuts in the latter, the several parts having coverings.

7. A harness-saddle having a top plate with lower slots and depressed seats below the latter, said seats being below the under side of the said top plate, plates applied to the under side of the same, and saddle-tips having shanks inserted through the said slots and provided with T-heads terminally caught by portions of the said top plate.

8'. A harness-saddle or the like having a tree or top plate with lower slots and depressed seats and recesses higher up in the side portions of the tree than the said slots, and saddle-tips having shanks inserted through the said slots and provided with inner terminal T-heads to engage the said recesses.

9. A harness-saddle having a tree or top plate with lower slots, bottom plates having seat members below said slots, skirts having extremities inserted through said slots and carrying nuts or screw-receiving devices, saddle-tips to which the tug-straps are attached also having portions inserted through said slots, bottom and pad plates applied to the said top plate, a covering for the bottom and pad'plates, a jockey on the top plate, and screws passed through the lower terminal portions of the jockey and into the nuts or screws carried by the inner extremities of the skirts, portions of the saddle-tips extending over the jockey ends.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LEON DUFF.

Witnesses:

HENRY H. PHILLIPS, G. A. KINNEY. 

